Method of obtaining purified ammonia-gas from ammonia liquors.



-o. M STINE. METHOD 0F OBTAINING PURIFIED AMMONIA GAS FROM AMMONIA LIQUORS.

APPLIQATIONPILED APR. '1, 190s.

patented Aug. s, 1909.

Till.:

W/ TNE SSE S:

UNITED s'rATEsrA'rENT OEEIOE.N

ROHAELEs Mz srINE, oEonEsTER, lrENNsYEvANIA7 AssIGNoE To lrr1-IE E. LDU rONT DE i `NEMOURS,POWDER` COMPANY, or WILMINGTON, DELAviuiEE7` A CORPORATION or i NEW JERSEY.;

` METHOD or*` OBTAININGPURIETED AMMONIA-Gas FROM AMMONIA LIQUoRs.

. naneenzo;

To all whomt `may concern.' 4

`Be it.` known that I, GHARLESM. STINE,

l a citizen of the United States, residing at Purified .i Ammonia Gas Chester,` county of Delaware, and State of Pennsylvammuhave `Invented a new and usefulImprovement IniMet-hods of Obtaining `Liquor-s,"of which the following is a full,

lio

i clear,- and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form a. part of this specification. I

The various ammonia salts asnitrate, sulfate/,feto are usually" manufactured from a mixed vtogether inv such' proportions as to form a neutralsalt, the resulting solution of the salt contains the impurities contained inthe liquor, andupon evaporation an impure salt is obtained, andin addition to this, in the case ofan acid like nitric acid, there is a' considerable reduction in yield owing to the reduction of the nitric' acid by the sulfur compounds inthe ammonia liquor, and also there is danger of ignition of the whole mass caused; by the i presence of `organic compounds. In `order to `obviate these diilioulties, it has been customary to olistil olf theV ammonia gas from the solution and pass the gas into the acid, either directly or through a dephlegmating apparatus and variously constructed scrubbers.

I have discovered an improved process or method for obtaining' purified ammonia gas from ammonia liquors. This process con- .sists in forcing a current of air through the ammonia liquor in a still provided with a return condenser. The air mixed with the ammonia gas passes through the return con# denser, whereby the volatilized water and organic impurities are returned to the still, and thence into a scrubber containing soda ash and lime, whereby all sulfur compounds are held back; from the scrubber the mixture of air and ammonia gas is passed directly into the acid vwhere it is absorbed yith `the production of the desired salt. In`

"thi ocess, I preferably start by forcing Specification of Letters Patent. i r. t `ApplcationledApril7, 1908. Serial No. 425,613.

from Ammonia air through the ammonia` liquor at the atmospheric temperature so as to drlveoif a portion of the ammonia by the current of ,air

alone. I then gradually raise the tempera- Patented Aug. s, 190e. Y

comparatively short time,owing to `a large proportion of the ammonial `having been already removed from the liquor by the air current.

The advantages of theA use of the air` current are: lst. Savin@ of heat In drivmo1 oft the ammonia from the solution as the air carries OIT a large` amount of ainmonia before heat is applied. 2nd. Equalization of the whole process; the excess of air preventing bumping, frothing and foaming. 3rd. At the end of the process, the current of air quickly sweeps all the ammonia out of the system, saving both time `and heat in rthe operation.

As an example of my process, I have taken a still containing about 450 pounds of ammonia liquor. This ammonia liquor` should contain, as is well known, sufficient lime to breakup the fixed ammonia. This still is closed, and air under pressure of about 40 pounds is forced into the ammonia liquor at the bottom of the still. I do not wish to limit mxuelf to air forced through the liquor` Initially, no steam is admitted to the coils,

and the ammonia gas is driven o merely by the air under pressure passing throughtthe ammonia liquor. Steam is then admitted to the coils, so as to gradually raisethe heat, until ultimately and finally a heat above the boiling point of water 4 is reached. Any other method for heating the ammonia solution may be used, as directheat or passing live steam directly into the liquor, which may or may not be mixed with "the air current. i

In the raccompanying drawing, I have illustrated an apparal :n which my Drr`` has been and may a is a still h' still is provid` mission of thiV CZ is a steam leading from a source of steam supply and i the outletpipe g is a pipe leading from a source of air under pressure, not shown, into the bottom of the still and having, in said still, the branch pipes 7L provided With horizontal openings z'. l

u is a thermometer in the still a for accurately determining the temperature and 'v is a draw otf cock for said still.

fr is the return condenser.

j is the cold Water pipe of the return condenser.

,7c is the Apipe leading from the still to the condenser. The pipes e and g are provided with regulating cocks Z and m respectively.

f/L is a pipe leading from the condenser to the scrubber 0.

This pipe n opens into the perforated pipes 2) to enable the gas to pass throughout the material in the scrubber.

g is a pipe leading from the scrubber to the tank of nitric acid, not shown, and s is a fstand pipe to equalize the pressure in scrubber 0.

t is the draw 0H cock for scrubber,

l l 929,726 l When I use the term forcing in the specification and claims, I intend to include both a case Where the @forcing is caused by pressure in or behind the air and suction i front of the air. Y

Having nowV fully described myV invention, WhatI claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. lIhe method' of obtaining purified ammonia gas from ammonia liquors, which consists in forcing a current ot' air through the liquor, and gradually increasing the temperature of the same to a point at, or above, the boiling point of Water.

2. The method of obtaining purified ainmonia gas from ammoniaca-l liquors, which consists in forcing a current of air through the liquor initially at atmospheric temperature and then gradually heating the same.

In testimony of which invention, have hereunto set my hand, at Gibbstown, on this fourth day of April, 1908.

CHARLES M. STINE. Vitnesses z II. M. PAULL, W. C. HoLuEs. 

